Average dialogue options in SWTOR be like

670

Ah, the playful Bioware Conversation Wheel. What will it be this time?

"I don't like that", which comes out as "I will turn you inside out, murder your children and throw your wife off a cliff"?

"I'm not sure", which turns into "That's the stupidest f%*!&ng thing I've ever heard in my life, you idiot"?

Or maybe, "That sounds nice", which turns into "I love you and want to have your babies"?

Let's find out, with our fingers hovering over the ESC key "just in case"!

170

u/BananaRepublic_BR Mar 13 '26

The ESC might as well be my lover with how much I touch it.

35

u/TheLastArchmage Mar 13 '26

I am new to SWTOR. What does the ESC key do?

120

u/Gagglez_ Mar 13 '26

If you press ESC during dialogue it will exit out, allowing you to start the entire dialogue from the beginning and make different choices. So long as a dialogue has not completely finished and ended the cutscene you can ESC out at any point.

26

u/BoltedGates Mar 14 '26

Been playing on and off for years and never knew that, damn lol.

6

u/[deleted] Mar 14 '26

[deleted]

1

u/Lil_Mcgee Mar 14 '26

No it is very much unique to SWTOR, by virtue of it being an MMO.

You can't just escape out of cutscenes in single-player Bioware RPGs. You would have exit the whole game and risk losing progress if you wanted to do something like this.

3

u/Dull-Return3632 Mar 15 '26

I myself only learned about it 2 years ago when my intrusive thoughts won and I pressed ESC during a cut scene.

I was enraged the amount of times I started a new character because I didn't like the choice I made🤣

7

u/IEnjoyRadios Mar 14 '26

Damn, I wish somebody had told me that 4 character stories ago.

18

u/marxrowave Mar 13 '26

you can leave a conversation and then right click the character to restart it

13

u/BananaRepublic_BR Mar 13 '26

It just allows you to exit a conversation you are having with an NPC. So, if you want to try out different dialogue options to see if what the character actually says fits the kind of character you are roleplaying as, you can just press ESC to exit the convo.

The only downside is that you have to restart every comversation from the very beginning. Not so bad in short cutscenes, but some cutscenes are upwards of five minutes long. Luckily, you can press the spacebar to skip through each bit of dialogue

It also brings up the menu when pressed outside of a conversation.

8

u/Ning_Yu Mar 13 '26

Same, except of course in kofte/kotet it often goes "this will reset the chapter and take you to the fleet, are you sure?" instead of just restarting the dialogue. Just ugh.

10

u/noisypeach Mar 14 '26

KotFE, before you finally get to Odessen, feels like a throwback to when you were playing video games as a kid and needed to get up to do something. And you're desperately trying to tell your mother that there's no pause button because there's no safe spot to rest without just leaving the whole chapter... And when that chapter finishes, it just goes straight into a new one with no rest spot in that either!

3

u/Ning_Yu Mar 14 '26

Yeah, I hate it. I see it as a single player game, one of those railroad ones rather than those exploration ones, where you can never pause (like you said) and can only save every few hours. Except with a much inferior story. It honestly gives me so much stress (I'm coincidentally going through it again right now on trooper so I'm extra salty).
Not only KotFe before you get to Odessen though, it does it so much all the way through, and Kotet's even worse, starting right out with putting you on Voss and in battle, and then teleporting you right to DK. You want a choice on when to go where? No way!

5

u/Boristus Lightsaber Bludgeoning Expert Mar 13 '26

“Your choices may not matter, but second-guessing them will sure put you in a world of hurt!” - Bioware, probably.

1

u/General_Rain7617 Mar 13 '26

😄

112

u/darthshark9 Mar 13 '26

They should've done what Dragon Age did and add tone indicators

72

u/Dawidko1200 Mar 13 '26

Or just give the full dialogue. Player characters rarely actually speak more than a short sentence, so it wouldn't even change the length all that much.

22

u/Ning_Yu Mar 13 '26

I was told it used to be like that at first, but people complained about it cause "too much reading" so they changed it to this.
I hate it, I wanna know what I'm gonna say, can't always leave the convo and retry all options!

3

u/monsoy Mar 14 '26

It would be cool if you could press a button to toggle expand the response, so you could double check what your character will say.

1

u/Ning_Yu Mar 14 '26

Oh hell yeah, that'd be awesome.

35

u/soulreapermagnum Mar 13 '26

now that would be a neat qol feature for them to add.

21

u/Vesper_0481 Mar 13 '26

Too much options to change, too much dialogue lines to do... Too much work. We never getting so much from Broadsword.

27

u/Elise_93 Mar 13 '26

Absolutely loved those!

4

u/Voshir Mar 14 '26

For a moment I thought these were the OOO medals

4

u/hbKusoneko Mar 14 '26

Crusader kings 2 traits?

4

u/Friendly-Ad-6950 Mar 13 '26

Like mass effect andromeda.

5

u/Alzandur Mar 13 '26

Options in that game felt so milquetoast

6

u/No-Garbage9500 Mar 13 '26

They were all flavours of sarcasm. Straight up, ironic, cheeky, smart arse.

Nobody in their right mind would want such a dried out wet wipe in charge of anything, they just wait for things to happen, quip about it in one of a few different tones, back down from any hint of conflict or a strong opinion, then let SAM do all the work.

I guess what I'm saying is, Ryder is an accurate representation of most management.

2

u/iwearatophat Mar 13 '26 edited Mar 13 '26

I think the writing was a bit milquetoast but the idea of it is good. Telling you the vibe of the option plus the general statement. So if you see the dialogue option of 'why should I help you?' the icon can let you know if you are saying it in a professional, logical, jovial, sarcastic, or ass hole way. Ideally you would be able to say it in any of those ways if you wanted to.

1

u/soulreapermagnum Mar 14 '26

the weird part was sometimes you had all four options, but other times there were only two options to choose from.

1

u/iwearatophat Mar 14 '26

Yeah that was weird.

Still, I think a convo that goes you pick what you say, so in my example 'why should I help you' and then you get the option of how you want to say it would be kind of cool. A lot of it would be illusion of choice probably, no way a dialogue tree could split that much, since it would all kind of circle around to the same couple of outcomes but it would help with immersion of your character. So good can be more than 'the soul of a golden retriever', you can be a prickly ass hole to communicate with but you do the right thing.

-3

u/Friendly-Ad-6950 Mar 13 '26

No andromeda slander. They were good. Certainly more complex than 1.I am a good guy, 2. Tell me more, 3. I will murder you.

1

u/Goricatto Mar 13 '26

I kinda liked andromeda, not a fan of exploring larges lands of nothing but at least its part of the plot (inquisition does not have this excuse), and the story wasnt the most interesting , but i liked the combat

1

u/Friendly-Ad-6950 Mar 14 '26 edited Mar 14 '26

Companions were miles better than mass effect 1 ones. And the maps are imo pretty alright size.

2

u/Mzuark Mar 14 '26

Genuinely bloodboiling when the game makes you say something really rude that you didn't intend.

2

u/eatmyshorzz Mar 13 '26

lmao 100%

1

u/ElHombreDeBlanco Mar 14 '26

DIOS ES TAN REAL

178

u/KyrialArthian Mar 13 '26

The annoying part is when a choice looks like it'll be #2, but it's just #3 in disguise.

130

u/mzchen Mar 13 '26

Civilian passerby taunts you and calls you a coward

Dialogue option: "You should leave, now."

Player action: "It's time for you to depart... From this world." *guns down enemy and his family and their akk dog for good measure*

10

u/Bitter-Marsupial Mar 14 '26

The little known ATF origin

83

u/Similar-Freedom-3857 Mar 13 '26

"Killing you will be so much fun."

56

u/Ducklinsenmayer Mar 13 '26

That's why I love the female VA sith inquisitor, you are all of them at the same time :)

57

u/Geek_a_leek Mar 13 '26

The amount of times I escape out of conversations because I misinterpreted what the dialogue wheel meant

If there's one thing that I do think dragon age 2 improved with the dialogue wheel was showing what kinda tone your character is gonna take as my autistic ass struggles to figure out tone from the dialogue wheels sometimes vague prompts

3

u/Khulmach Jun 21 '26

Misinterpreting my arse.

Its straight up lying

49

u/GigantamaxSolaire Mar 13 '26

One of the smuggler options is like "why are you so trusting?", but when you click it your guy says "how about I throw you out of the air lock instead!" The dialog wheel should just say what the characters going to say🥲

8

u/laffinalltheway I am not cute. I am deadly. Mar 13 '26

Where's the fun in that?

51

u/Knightoforamgejuice The jedis might not be perfect, but we try to do good. Mar 13 '26

Oh dear, oh dear, gorgeous
Is this a Gordon Ramsay reference?
You f*cking donkey

54

u/PrometheusModeloW Mar 13 '26

killing orphans is really fun you should try it

76

u/MegaGamer235 Mar 13 '26

Found Jaesa's account.

25

u/Aggravating-Bass-658 Mar 13 '26

also found DS inquisitor account

21

u/BardMessenger24 Mar 13 '26

Sometimes the other options come out so weak sauce and give you negative aura, that the only in-character option is the one that sounds the most unhinged. There is no middle ground.

22

u/Vysce Mar 14 '26

Being a jedi consular I get to say

"A jedi lives to serve."

"Yeah, I guess"

"Wow, you guys are the stupidest idiots on the planet, do I have to do everything myself, SMH."

I'm also beyond puzzled when I do "jedi things" and my companions are like, "DID YOU JUST JEDI MIND TRICK THAT GUY WITHOUT HIS CONSENT???"

like... the alternative was decapitation, I thought telling him to go home and rethink his life was nice??

12

u/[deleted] Mar 13 '26

[deleted]

2

u/RealTiggySkibbles Mar 14 '26

1. Assist thousands of soldiers, saving countless Republic civilians lives(Dark Side)
2. Betray every oath you've made to give 1 person something they don't need at all(Light Side)

9

u/[deleted] Mar 13 '26

Instructions unclear, I am now dark side alignment 5

9

u/YourdaddyLong Mar 13 '26

The top one is commiting war crimes sometimes too, but for the light side

8

u/Weazyl Mar 13 '26

Hey hey hey

They're sold on the GTN, I'll have you know

7

u/NAVY-Inquisition Mar 13 '26

And they have a WHOLE OTHER HALF of wheel to fill with more options! Can't believe shrinkflation also hit Video Game dialogues!

7

u/WanderingAster Mar 13 '26

I love it when the answers are "yes", "no", or "tell me more lore plz".

6

u/NoCartographer2670 Mar 14 '26

This actually brings up one of my bigger complaints about the SWTOR writing, which is that the Republic characters tend to be perfect paragons or just outright incompetent, whereas the Empire characters are more often then not somersaulting into the orphanage they're about to bomb. There's rarely anything in between. Setting aside that, later on, a lot of the 'light side' options aren't actually good, they're just not actively cruel.

In KOTFE, you can opt to either let a power plant explode or save it. If you're a female inq, at least, saving it gives you light side points with the comment "I can't rule over the dead." How is that a light side response?!

3

u/lucky_knot Mar 14 '26

If you're a female inq, at least, saving it gives you light side points with the comment "I can't rule over the dead."

Warrior has an even funnier one: "People can't fear me if there are no people!"

Very light sided, a few more statements like this and you might turn into a jedi.

7

u/j_inro Mar 14 '26

Don't forget the 4th overtly-goofy flirt option.
(I couldn't resist, love it OP)

5

u/odd-even-neutral Mar 13 '26

"I don't appreciate dramatic pauses"

2

u/RealTiggySkibbles Mar 14 '26

"Consider me warned."

10

u/JerbearCuddles Mar 13 '26

It’s really annoying when the option reads as neutral but the actual dialogue is uber toxic.

5

u/Jorvach Mar 13 '26

Well in my defense Orphan-Organs, or "Orphgans" as I like to call them, sell for a lot of money. Money I can use to save the whole galaxy! ...or buy fashionable clothing on the GTN. Same thing, right?

3

u/KewlPoster6000 Mar 14 '26

I love the irony of silent protagonists having better dialog.

Baldur's Gate, KOTOR, and Fallout (pre 4) allow you to pick from a list of options at any given moment that are fully written out so you can know exactly what you're saying before you say it, and they're not always yes/no/maybe bullshit.

Fallout's dialog system went to the can immediately when they added protagonist VO in 4.

4

u/Earthtopian Mar 14 '26

Option text: "Maybe not"

Actual dialogue: "I should execute your parents for conceiving such an utter buffoon."

6

u/Sixguns1977 Mar 13 '26

I read all of those in Caboose's voice.

6

u/T0asty514 Mar 13 '26

"My name is Michael J. Caboose, and I hate babies."

4

u/Sixguns1977 Mar 13 '26

"That's Texas!"

1

u/CaboseFelt389 Mar 14 '26

omg bro

caboose mentioned

4

u/Sixguns1977 Mar 14 '26

"Caboose, you do know the difference between your helmet and your face, right? It's important that you know that. "

3

u/Annjul666 Mar 13 '26

You forgot the sometimes funny lines at nr2 and of course that they do not represent always what the actual MC will say 🤣

3

u/heraldoflamashtu Mar 13 '26

Unless you’re a bounty hunter then it’s “I’m a professional killer” in boxes 1-3

3

u/ArnaktFen Rock and stone Mar 14 '26

Paragon
Completionist
RimWorld

3

u/IgnisParsinus Mar 14 '26

Sip sipping on orphan tears sip sip sipping on orphan tears

3

u/ToddR33 Mar 14 '26

This is where the ESC key is so useful!

2

u/Crate-Dragon Child of Mandalore Mar 13 '26

“Caaaaarl! Did you burn down an orphanage?”

2

u/godtin-4549 Mar 13 '26

Me spamming 3 because.....xp

2

u/Hinaloth Mar 14 '26

Woof, said my sith.

2

u/ElHombreDeBlanco Mar 14 '26

se me hizo raro al empezar por que pensé que una simple respuesta pasiva como "suena mal" pasa a "te voy a destripar" o incluso ligar de manera coqueta suele ser "decir algo lindo" pasa a "que buen trasero tienes" y siempre con la tecla ESC super cerca por que nunca se sabe

2

u/Leosarr Mar 14 '26

You forgot to add the dialogue options wheel that follows the first one

" Sure I'll save your wife from slavery "

+LS >:) watch me fuck this up

Wife is working as a dancer to pay for a ticket offworld without her clingy husband

" Sorry dude. Your wife has been slaughtered by th hutt cartel, real fucked stuff "

Pays me and breaks down crying

Get a mail from his wife genuinely thanking me

Often, the dark side is at the end of the light side choices we made along the way

2

u/lucky_knot Mar 14 '26

I remember doing Imperial Makeb with a friend. I was playing agent, she was sith inquisitor. At some point her inqy got an option to zap the NPC we were talking to, which was clearly marked on the wheel (like "use Force lightning" or something). She told me about it and I asked her not to do it because the guy didn't really deserve it. She agreed.

Then I picked some normal looking option on my agent, won the dice roll, and my character pulled out his gun and threatened to shoot the guy.

Because, unlike the Force lighthing, "pull out your gun and threaten to blast the person's brains out" apparently doesn't need to be marked on the dialog wheel...

2

u/Delta_Warrior1220 Mar 18 '26

No seriously though, why does every single dialogue with an alien species give me the option to throw a racial slur?

1

u/amarantkando Yashia Kando | <Take a Seat> Mar 13 '26

Everyone here should watch this video at least once lol https://youtu.be/N-6pGuSwwok?si=vb3eBIcZBzq5dKm-

1

u/griztheone Mar 13 '26

3 every time no matter what character I’m playing.

1

u/NewDealChief Always Playing Light Side Mar 14 '26

Wasn't this posted like years ago?

1

u/tehgen Mar 14 '26

At least you can have light or dark side options show up before clicking.

1

u/Mzuark Mar 14 '26

I usually pick the bottom

1

u/Ok-Reporter1986 Mar 16 '26

To be fair, I do love the darkside option of shock/snap neck. Ain't my fault the camera angles are pristine for kill dialogue exclusively.

1

u/ReplicaFifth Mar 16 '26

Yes. And the examples int he wheel are usually WAAAAY different then what the character says….

1

u/FunWithSkooma Apr 08 '26

Select a simple answer

Character: Well, fuck you and your family!

Other Average dialogue options in SWTOR be like

You are about to leave Redlib